One of my coworkers ordered Caramel Corn from David’s Tea and accidentally received this instead. (WHOOPS! Seems like somebody over there had a case of the Mondays.) Caffeine of any sort makes her face explode in treacherous boils of acne (she alleges; she’s perfect, so I doubt it). She got a refund. I got the tea.

Though the tea isn’t currently available, there is a nice blog post about preparing a latté it here.

I didn’t prepare it that way. I can’t even begin to even. That sounds nice, though. If you have a tea on hand that has a similar flavor profile, please try that and report back.

The primary thing I taste in this blend is the cocoa shells, which is like slightly watery hot chocolate from a packet. There’s also a slight inkling of the freeze-dried banana/pineapple, which adds a little bit of a tartness/sassiness to the blend.

Would Elvis approve of this? I’m not sure.

This tea reminds me of one of those tropical-themed parties that happens in the winter. “We’re going to have a boardwalk treat!” the party-owner says, wearing a parrot-head hat and pretending to lean on a plastic, inflatable palm tree. The crowd is wearing leis over their sweaters. They are not sure they can handle the Jimmy Buffett/hula/reggae playlist forever. The basement they are in is not fully heated.

I’m not sure I love this mix, but if anyone ever wants to engage me in a Tea Trade, I will happily send it along!

"Hey, everybody! I'm Leah, a graphic designer from Pennsylvania, United States. I live with my husband and rescue mutt in a house with colorful walls. I love fonts, colors, animals, flowers, novels, illustration, geeking out, and -- obviously! -- tea. I've only been heavily into tea for about a year, but I've found I tend to prefer loose blended black dessert teas. I normally drink them hot western style without anything added; if I add in some vanilla almond milk or honey, I promise I'll mention it! When I'm not blogging here, I'm blogging at leahlucci.com/starling or posting to Instagram (super_starling), so come say hi!"

Jump start your car with a blast of electricity. Jump start your brain and your day with this high caffeine cuppa! For tea lovers everywhere, it’s no secret that mate tea is a powerful pick-me-up, and often cited as a great alternative to coffee. Well Jump Start blend from Adagio teas has toasted mate and so much more.

There’s not just mate, there’s traditional black tea in the blend as well, a staple of every breakfast blend around. But let’s take this caffeine level a step further: kola nuts. Kola nuts are caffeine-containing tree nuts, previously used as an ingredient in sodas, hence where we get the term “cola.” So there’s caffeine from the mate, from the black tea, and even from the kola nut inclusion. This tea should come with a warning, like roller coasters: don’t brew this tea if you have a heart condition. You’ll be rocketing out of your socks in no time!

So how do all of these ingredients taste? The toasted mate brings roasty, earthy, dry hay notes, which serve as a compliment to the more traditional boldness of the black tea. With additions like smooth, sweet cocoa nibs, and warm, spicy cinnamon bark, it’s hard not to imagine the kola nuts adding their own kind of cola sweetness. I brewed this blend black, how I take most of my tea, but it is bold enough to hold up its flavor, even if softened with a bit of milk.

This will be an amazing tea for those of you who just can’t seem to get enough caffeine. Skip your espresso-laced red-eye cold brew coffee, and just brew a cup of Jump Start instead!

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels.
When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy.
Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends.
Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson
Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

I have never actually had a mate blend. Which is interesting because I have drank a lot of teas, but just never had an interest in mate I guess. Although mate is considered an herbal blend, it still contains a pretty high amount of caffeine. I really needed a caffeine boost today so I decided to brew up a cup of Sweet Cinnamon Mate. I like sweet cinnamon, not hot cinnamon, so I hoped that this tea would live up to its name.

Now, I don’t have any other mate blends to compare this to, but I noticed a pretty distinct vegetal/herbal flavor right off the bat. I also noticed a slight bitterness, and whether that was from the cacao or the mate, I am not sure but there was a definite bite to this blend. The cinnamon added some nice warmth, but it wasn’t overly hot or spicy, it was definitely sweet as promised. I almost want to use the word smokey to describe this. It definitely brought on feelings of comfort and warmth and would be a great blend on a cold fall morning.

This has definitely peaked my curiosity for mate blends and I will be trying more in the future, so stay tuned!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Mate

Description

SWEET CINNAMON MATÉ (pronounced mah-tay) brings you a satisfying beverage that’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and a whole lot energizing! The delicate balance of yerba matế, cinnamon, and sweet cacao nibs creates a tea drinking experience you will enjoy again and again.
(Note: This blend has a light, mellow cinnamon flavor rather than a strong, hot cinnamon flavor.)

Hi, my name is Sophia. I am a first time mother to a beautiful little girl who will be 1 in July 2017. I spend my days at home with her and when I get a minute to myself, I usually spend that time making, drinking, or researching tea! My love for loose leaf tea is relatively new. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my mother (a tea addict herself) brought me to DAVIDsTEA. I enjoyed a cup of their Coconut Cream Pie Oolong and was instantly hooked! Since then, my addiction has grown to fill entire cabinets, and shows no sign of stopping.
I am the creator of the Facebook group CommuniTEA where we have one big tea discussion. It is a great group for those new to the tea-world. I feel strongly about spreading the joy of loose leaf tea. I like making instructional videos and helping those that are new to the art of tea-making so that they, too, can share in the happiness that tea brings. I am excited to see where this hobby takes me and I will continue to spread the joy!

It seems like forever ago since I drank a tea from David’s Tea. Today I’m sharing with you their Chocolate Covered Almond flavored Black Tea. This tea is NOT currently listed on their website but according to the package does NOT contain dairy.

It claims that this is sweet, crunchy, and totally addictive. I would certainly agree that it IS a tasty treat! Cocoa, Carob, and Almonds are the addictive trinity here, friends! This tea also contains yerba mate, sugar, and flavorings.

Aside from the yummy-goodness of the flavor of this tea I have to say that I was overly impressed that it contained a black tea and Yerba Mate blended base. Because it had so much flavor it was hard to pick out the Yerba Mate flavor by itself but I appreciate that it was in there, regardless!

Co-Founder/Co-Creator of Sororitea Sisters at Sororitea Sisters
Jennifer (TeaEqualsBliss) is in her upper 30s and lives in the eastern snowbelt area of the US with her husband, 3 dogs, and cat (however the number of furkids can change at anytime as she LOVES providing a forever home for many shelter animals. Her several interests include music, movies, veganism, sports, traveling, collecting Baseball Cards and Unicorns, Radio, Computers, Crafting, and of course…TEA. She started drinking tea at the tender age of 3 thanks to her Grandmother and her love for tea has gotten stronger with each year! In addition to being a co-founder/co-creator of Sororitea Sisters - her main site is MyBlissfulJourney.com. Find out more about Jennifer on MyBlissfulJourney.com.

Happy New Year one and all! I hope the New Year has treated all of our dear readers well. What better way to start the New Year than with a tea that is completely out of my comfort zone. I thought this could be the year that I really try and expand my tea horizons with ginger.

Ginger and I have a love hate relationship. Until recently, I absolutely couldn’t handle anything with ginger in it. But I’ve found that I’ve started to really enjoy ginger and even ate candied ginger. . .and loved it. I’m wondering if my taste buds are starting to change. . .

Let’s Toast is a brilliant blend of yerba mate, ginger, orange extract, orange peel, holy tulsi trinity, and rose hips. This drink has it all and I couldn’t wait to try it.

Brewed up with freshly boiled water and allowed to steep for the recommend time on the package, this tea smelled like an herbal treat in a cup. There were definite citrus notes coming through.

And those some citrus notes came through in the very first sip. This tea is rich and deeply flavored with notes of citrus with a toasted texture and a hint of a spicy twist (from the ginger). A wonderful morning brew that gives you that kick you need to get going without the traditional tea flavors. What really makes this tea special is that herbal flavor you get towards the end of each sip providing you with warmth that stretches to your toes. This tea begs you to brew it up, wrap your hands around the mug, and just drink until those warm and cozy feelings kick in.

I’m sure you’ve already figured this out but I adored this tea. Just adored it and have found myself reaching for it so much that I’m almost out of it. I really love the change of pace this tea offers, plus with the ginger in it, this tea fuels my newly acquired love for all things ginger. Highly recommend this one if you are looking for something new to try for this new year. This one may even become a stable in my tea stash.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Yerba Mate Blend

Description

This is a delicately toasted Yerba Mate is perfectly balanced with the Holy Tulsi Trinity (Holy Basil: Krishna, Rama & Vana), a powerfully beneficial and exotic mix. This blend has the depth of a black tea, yet it is very light and easy to drink. An intoxicating scent of orange with the subtle spice of freshly dried ginger root. It is a favorite at the Tea Hive!

I am a late 30s something mom who loves her family, will be getting married to a wonderful guy and has 4 kids (2 mine-2 his). We have a beautiful life together and I wouldn't change a thing.
Tea is a passion that quickly turned into an obsession, very similar to my love for polka dots, the horror genre, and anything that is geeky and fun. I drink all kinds of tea and will try a tea twice to make sure I didn't bumble the first infusion.
Besides SororiTea Sisters, I'm also the blogger and genius (I use that word very loosely) behind CuppaGeek, where I review tea, books, and the horror genre.